


Eight Years

by misteeirene



Series: Eight Years [1]
Category: teen wolf - Fandom
Genre: Alive Hales, Death, Good Peter, John/Peter - Freeform, Kidnapping, M/M, Pre-Slash, Spark Stiles, alpha pack, good ethan and aiden
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:28:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22975552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misteeirene/pseuds/misteeirene
Summary: It’s been eight years since Claudia took off with his eight year old son and returned without him, refusing to tell him what happened to his little boy. Finding a new family with Peter and the Hale Pack, John will do anything to keep them safe, even kill the Alpha Pack’s emissary and spark.
Relationships: Stiles Stilinski/Derek Hale pre-slash
Series: Eight Years [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1651093
Comments: 45
Kudos: 655





	Eight Years

Ugh, I was really conflicted on whether to post this fic or trash it. I started it last year and it was supposed to be a short one shot, but it just didn’t want to end. Not sure I’m really happy with it, but I put a lot of time in it so I would regret if I trashed it. As of right now I have no desire to write more for it despite everything not being wrapped up in a cute little bow, but my muse can change her mind so I decided go ahead and post it with the possibility of there being a second part.

Hope you enjoy

Please review!

***TW

John stood stiffly at the gravesite, his hands clenched tightly at his sides, his white knuckles throbbing in time with the pounding of his heart. He only visited his wife’s grave once a year, but like with the past eight years, he wasn’t sure how he should be feeling. He loved his wife, loved her with all his heart, but at the same time he hated her...hated her with a burning, fiery passion.

Teeth clenched, he bent down and placed the flowers he brought, now a bit damaged thanks to his clenched fists, on her grave then stood back up. “I hope you have found peace, Claudia,” he said in a rough and raw voice. “God knows I haven’t been able to find peace, not after what you did.”

Feeling a stinging behind his eyes, John sighed as he moved to the next grave. With a trembling hand, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a little Batman action figure. Blinking rapidly against his tears, he looked down at the headstone and at the seven other Batman action figures that were now dirty, sun bleached, and broken after years of sitting out in the weather. “I know you’re sixteen now, son, but I would like to think that you would still be obsessed with Batman if you were still here.”

Truthfully, it was hard for John to visualize his son as a sixteen year old. Stiles would forever be a chubby cheeked, mole dotted, hyperactive, loving little eight year old boy to him. Stiles had been so full of life and so damn smart, he couldn’t believe that it had been eight years since he lost him.

“John.”

John tensed slightly when a hand touched his elbow, but then he relaxed into the body behind him. “Did I ever tell you about how I potty trained Stiles?”

“No,” the man behind John lied, “but I would love to hear it.” Peter had heard the story, probably a million times, but for John he would happily hear it a million more times...anything to help ease his mate’s pain.

John chuckled wetly, a small sob escaping his throat. “Stiles was so damn smart...too damn smart actually. Despite being a damn baby genius, he flat out refused to use the bathroom. C-Claudia and I,” he said, tripping over his dead wife’s name, “tried everything. We must have read a dozen books on parenting and potty training, but none of their tips worked. We tried the Cheerio in the potty trick, we bought a musical potty, we sang silly songs and watched stupid cartoons about going pee pee in the potty, but Stiles was a stubborn little shit. We were convinced that Stiles was just going to live his life in pull-ups.”

“Stubborn, just like his father,” Peter chuckled softly.

John stood quietly for a few minutes as his tears continued to fall. Stiles had been a lot like him, he had even told anyone that was willing to listen that he was going to be a cop like his daddy someday. Stiles would sit on his lap for hours watching cartoons while caressing the badge on his chest, and every commercial he would tell him all about the bad guys he was going to catch, but instead of wearing a uniform like his, he was going to wear a Batman costume.

“So one day while out for a walk Stiles caught me peeing on a tree,” John continued as he closed his eyes, lost in the memory. “Before I knew it he had his pants and pull-ups down around his ankles peeing on the tree next to me giggling his little three year old butt off. Our normal forty five minute walk turned into two hours because Stiles had to piss on every damn tree that he could.”

John shook his head chuckling. “Stiles was still stubborn when it came to using the actual potty, it still took a few more months before he actually used the damn thing, but every time that boy had to piss he would run outback and pee on a tree. Old Mrs. Tremble next door use to get so upset every time she spotted him, but he would just give her the biggest smile while waving with one hand and holding his penis in the other.”

Peter wrapped his arms around John’s waist as he smiled wistfully. “I wish I could have known him better.” He had seen Stiles and his mother a few times around town and a couple times at elementary school functions since his niece Cora was the same age, but he hadn’t really known the boy. He had known of the Stillinski’s, as pack enforcer it was his job to know everything about everyone in their territory so of course when John and his pregnant wife Claudia moved to town he had dug up everything he could find on them. It hadn’t been easy for him, not after meeting John and scenting him as his mate. He had been so hurt and angry that his destined mate was married and expecting a child that he had done everything within his power to ignore the man and his family. Maybe if he hadn’t he would have seen the signs that something wasn’t right with Claudia. Maybe he could have saved John’s son.

Dropping to his knees, John cleaned the ground around his son’s headstone, removing all the little sticks and dead leaves. Then he turned his attention to the headstone. Pulling out a towel from his pocket, he meticulously cleaned the marble slab of old dirt and grass clippings that had been blown onto it. “Happy birthday, son,” he said brokenly as the new Batman figure joined the seven old figures on the edge of the headstone. “I love you, kiddo.”

Peter’s heart bled as his mate started sobbing. John was the strongest man that he has ever met, but he knew from past years that John would spend the rest of the day crying and then spend the night suffering from nightmares. Nightmares about Stiles and what happened to him. He wished that he could do more to help him, to help take away his pain, but all he could do was comfort John and make sure that he didn’t turn to alcohol to drown himself in his grief. It had taken him a long time to pull John out of the bottom of the bottle, he wasn’t going to let him slip back down.

Peter waited patiently as his mate cried at his son’s grave. In years past John could only stand to stay at the cemetery for a few minutes, while other times he stayed for hours. He would stay and support his mate until John was ready, this was the one day of the year where his mate needed him the most.

With his head bowed, John continued to cry. He would give anything, even his own life, just to see his baby boy one more time. Hell, he would give his life just to find out what happened to Stiles. It was the not knowing that ate at him twenty fours hours a day and constantly haunted him.

It had been a scary time for them, Claudia was just starting to show signs of sickness and they had been awaiting the results of her second MRI when both her and Stiles had went missing. He should have acted sooner, he should have forced her to see a doctor earlier, but Claudia had sworn that everything was alright, that her forgetting things and her extreme mood swings were just her being tired. Tired he could understand, Stiles had been a very hyper and exhausting child. So instead of acting on his instincts, he had continued on with his life, working extremely long hours despite knowing that sometimes Claudia yelled at Stiles for stupid things and that sometimes she even forgot to feed him. He had even spotted odd bruises on his little boy, but Stiles had sworn that he had gotten them in gym class....never in a million years had he suspected Claudia was hurting their boy.

It was a Saturday morning when his world came crashing down around him. He had just gotten off a grueling double shift and all he could think about was going home to enjoy a nice home cooked breakfast with his family, a few hours of playtime with his boy, and then eight hours of good sleep before he had to be back at the station. He hated when he had to pull a double, but Claudia understood and she never complained. When he returned home he was surprised to find Claudia’s blue Jeep missing out of the driveway, but he figured that they had probably ran out of milk or eggs so she had taken herself and Stiles to the grocery store. It was seven thirty in the morning, but Stiles was never one to sleep in. Even at eight years of age and on a Saturday morning Stiles was still up and dressed and ready for the day by six o’clock.

Not really concerned, John decided to take a long hot shower while he waited for his son and wife to return. He had expected to smell breakfast cooking when he got out of the shower and hear Stiles talking a mile a minute, but when he got out the house was still eerily silent. By nine am he was in a full blown panic and banging on the neighbors door. Mrs. Tremble was old, but Mrs. Tremble was also a nosy gossip. She had told him that Claudia had left the house shortly after he left for work the previous day, informing her that she was spending the weekend with her sister. 

Claudia didn’t have a sister.

Immediately he had called the station and had them put out an APB on Claudia’s Jeep, but it had taken an agonizing four days before they had gotten a good lead. Claudia’s Jeep had been spotted at a hotel in Washington State, right outside Seattle. When the police arrived, they found Claudia packing her bags to return home, but no trace of Stiles anywhere. Claudia had seemed perfectly fine and happy and when questioned about Stiles she said that he was a demon that was trying to kill her so she had to get rid of him.

After that Claudia’s health quickly declined. For two years he had begged and pleaded and even threatened his wife to tell him what happened to his boy, but every time she flat out refused. Even when she had been in her right mind she refused to tell him what she did with Stiles. According to the hotel workers, Claudia had been alone when she checked in and she never had any visitors. Sometime between the time she left the house and checked in at the hotel in Washington, she had got ridden of their little boy.

There were times where he felt like he couldn’t live without knowing what happened to his baby boy. Even now, eight years later, he was still looking for Stiles even though he had been declared legally dead. Shortly after Claudia died they had held a funeral for Stiles, but the small coffin buried under his feet was empty.

He knew that Peter was also still looking for his son, he had a huge network of supernatural acquaintances, but not even the supernatural world could find out anything on his boy. In the beginning he tried to stay positive, he tried to believe that they would find Stiles, but it was hard to keep faith without a single lead or sighting. It was as though his son had just disappeared into thin air.

Searching for Stiles is how he and Peter had gotten together. Honestly, he’d probably be dead right now if it hadn’t been for Peter Hale. Not only had Peter volunteered to help search for Stiles as soon as he went missing, but he had also stood by him the two years Claudia was sick before she died, and he was also there for him when he tried drowning himself in alcohol. Peter stuck by him during the tears, the anger, the drinking, the vomiting, and the passing out...he had never left his side during it all.

In those early days of the search, Peter had come to him confessing that him and his family were werewolves. He had already known about the Hales, they were practically werewolf royalty because of their strength and because of their rare ability to be able to shift into actual wolves. He had grown up knowing about the supernatural world because his great grandmother had been a very powerful Druid, she had even sat at the head of the Druid council for over twenty years. He had been shocked and grateful when Peter had come to him offering both his and his packs help with tracking down Stiles. It wasn’t until almost two years after Claudia died, when he was finally getting his life straightened out, that Peter had confessed that he was his mate. By that time he had already been in love with the man, he had just been too afraid to act on his feelings. In the beginning he had felt guilty for finding happiness with Peter and his pack, it felt wrong to be able to laugh again when he didn’t know what happened to his little boy, but Peter had been patient with him and his mood swings and with the packs help and lots of counseling he learned that it was okay to be happy again. It was okay to live again. He never stopped thinking of Stiles though. Not a day has gone by where he hasn’t looked at his picture or thought about him. 

Peter had been standing silently behind his mate for close to three hours when John finally stood up, his eyes red and swollen. Seeing that his mate was unsteady on his feet, he quickly wrapped his arm around his waste to help steady him. John may be a bit taller than him, but he was more muscular and stronger. Thanks to his supernatural strength it was easy for him to take all of John’s weight.

“I hate her,” John said brokenly in Peter’s ear. “I hate her so much for taking my boy away from me. Why? Why wouldn’t she tell me what happened to him? He was my son and I failed him.”

Peter swallowed the lump in his throat, he always dreaded this day. He hated seeing his mate in so much pain. He never told John, but he hated Claudia too. If he could, he would go back in time and kill the bitch before she had the chance to take off with John’s son. Everyone blamed her illness for what she did to Stiles, but even during her sane moments she refused to tell John what happened. He wasn’t convinced though, he felt that Claudia had been sane when she took Stiles, but he had never been able to figure out why. There had just always been something off to him about Claudia, something that always had his wolf on alert.

“You didn’t fail him, John,” Peter said as he kissed his mate’s temple. This was common, John always blamed himself for his son’s disappearance. Claudia had had a plan, even if John would have been home more she still would have found a way to get rid of Stiles. Short of being able to see the future, there was nothing John could have done to save his son.

“I’m ready to go home,” John said weakly.

Peter supported John as he gave one last look to his son’s grave then started walking to the car. He knew that his mate would probably spend the rest of the day curled up on the couch crying or crying over old pictures. He also knew that John wouldn’t eat today, he never did on his son’s birthday. One time years ago he had pressured John to eat and he had ended up violently throwing everything back up again. Now he just let John be for the day to do what he needed to do in order to survive the painfully agonizing day.

***TW

Peter was exhausted. It had been a long day with John and even though it was a little past midnight and his mate was sleeping at his side, he was still awake awaiting the nightmares that he knew would soon be coming. He wouldn’t be sleeping tonight, he never did on this night, but that was okay because John was his mate and he would sacrifice anything for him.

Hearing his phone vibrating on his nightstand with an incoming text, Peter quietly closed the book he had been reading then reached for his phone. Reading the text, he frowned before climbing out of bed and putting on a pair of sleep pants. Checking on his mate before leaving their bedroom, he quickly descended the stairs then made his way outside.

“Talia,” Peter greeted, concerned that his sister was at his and John’s small cabin so late at night...especially this night of all nights. Everyone in the pack and at the sheriff’s station knew to leave them alone on this day.

“You look tired,” Talia, Peter’s sister and alpha said as way of a greeting. “I know this is a bad time but we have an emergency.” Talia wasn’t going to ask about John, she didn’t need to, she could scent the man’s grief from a half a mile down the road. Normally she would never drop by on this night, but it was an emergency and Peter was her left hand man and enforcer.

“Shit,” Peter cursed, his eyes flashing blue. “Is it hunters?”

“I wish,” Talia sighed. “Hunters we can handle. I just got wind that the Alpha Pack are making their way here.”

“Deucalion, the self proclaimed demon wolf?” Peter asked with a frown. “What the hell does he want with us?” The Alpha Pack were a notoriously strong pack of alphas that had killed their own packs in order to gain more power. For the most part they kept to themselves, but if you had something or someone they wanted, they would stop at nothing to get it. They have decimated countless packs over the years for their own selfish gains.

“He wants Derek,” Talia said gravely. “Now that he’s an alpha, plus a Hale and a full shifter, he wants to collect him for his pack.”

Peter snorted. “Derek is not a killer. Yes, he’s broody with a permanent scowl on his face that makes him look like a serial killer, but the boy is a marshmallow who loves reading romance novels and watching rom coms.”

Talia smiled, that pretty much described her Derek. “You’re right, Derek is not a killer and I’m sure Deucalion knows that I raised him to be a fair and honest alpha, but that’s not stopping him from coming for him. You know how Deucalion works, he’s going to come here and try to manipulate Derek, and when that doesn’t work, he’s going to force him into killing his pack and joining him.”

Peter rubbed tiredly at his eyes. Deucalion was no laughing matter, the alpha was extremely powerful and dangerous. No pack that stood against him were alive today, the man was ruthless. “He wants Derek as payback.”

Talia nodded her head in agreement. “He blames me for Argent blinding him. He believes if I had joined him in that peace talk that Gerard wouldn’t have attacked. He said all those years ago that he was going to get back at me and he’s going to do it by either recruiting Derek, or killing him. No one in the packs will be safe, he will target everyone, even the humans, to get at Derek.”

“Derek has only been an alpha for three months and he only has three freshly bitten beta’s plus Scott, they won’t stand a chance against the Alpha Pack.” Peter pointed out in concern. Derek was never meant to be an alpha, but three months ago while out running patrol he came across a feral alpha mauling on young Scott McCall. Derek ended up fighting the alpha and killing him, taking his alpha spark by conquest. Since an alpha needed betas in order to stay sane, he ended up biting three more teenagers, Erica Reyes who suffered from debilitating seizures, Vernon Boyd who was an outcast who only had a dying grandmother as family, and Isaac Lahay, a shy, friendless boy whose father had been beating on him. Scott had also ended up joining Derek’s pack since he was the one who saved him.

“As concerning as Deucalion and his alphas are, Deaton is more concerned about his emissary.”

Peter narrowed his eyes at his sister. “Deucalion doesn’t have an emissary, he killed him when he killed the rest of his pack.”

“Not according to Deaton. He has heard rumors over the past year that Deucalion has acquired an exceptionally powerful emissary, an emissary who is supposedly a spark.”

Peter paled, sparks were rare and their powers unlimited. If Deucalion had a spark then they all were doomed. “Where the hell did he find a spark?”

Talia shrugged. “I don’t know, up until a year ago there had been no talk of a spark surfacing and looking for a pack.” As powerful as sparks were, they needed a pack to help ground their magic. Normally when a spark came out looking for a pack news spread throughout the supernatural community like wildfire, but there had been nothing on this mystery spark.

Peter started pacing his front porch, his mind racing. This was bad, very, very bad. The Alpha Pack were dangerous on their own, but with a spark in their pack he didn’t know how they were going to stop them. “Any idea on when they will be here?”

“A day or two,” Talia said somberly.

Peter pinched the bridge of his nose, as if the past twenty four hours couldn’t get any worse. “Call a full pack meeting tomorrow evening and in the mean time I’ll see if I can dig anything up on the spark.”

Hating how stressed and tired her brother looked, Talia leaned in and hugged him. “Try to get some sleep, little brother, you look dead on your feet.”

Peter melted into his alpha’s embrace. “I can sleep tomorrow night, John is going to need me tonight and I need to see if I can find anything on this spark.

***TW

With a whimper, a young man wearing a red hoodie with the hood up hit the ground hard. Breath knocked out of him, he laid there on the dirty pavement outside the gas station waiting for his lungs to remember how to function.

“What a fucking loser,” another teen, who had purposely ran into the boy, said as he sneered down at the boy who was now clutching at his chest while attempting to breath. Before the teen could move on, a snarl came from his left and then he was being slammed against the outside wall of the gas station.

“Apologize, you shit bag!” Another teen snarled, this one almost twice the size of the teen that he had pinned. When the teen didn’t apologize immediately, the big teen slammed him against the wall again, knocking his head painfully against the bricks. “I said apologize!”

“Apologize, Jackson,” a third teen said quickly, his eyes wide with fear.

Even though he was seeing stars and his head was aching, Jackson narrowed his eyes. “Did I hurt your fucking twink?”

“Jackson!” The other boy cried in both fear and anger. “Apologize now before he rearranges your face.”

The teen pinning Jackson to the wall turned his head and gave Jackson’s friend a wink. “If I were you Jackson, I’d listen to your cute friend here.”

“Danny,” the other boy said blushing. “My name is Danny.”

“Fuck, Danny, can you not flirt with him while he has me pinned to the wall. I’m your damn best friend,” Jackson ground out, his face turning red from the pressure that the other guy was putting on his chest with his large hand.

Still looking at Danny, the other teen pressed even harder on Jackson’s chest. “My name is Ethan,” he told Danny silkily. “And if your friend doesn’t apologize to my friend then I’m going to break his nose.”

Danny paled, he could tell that this Ethan guy, who was extremely hot and muscular, wasn’t joking. “Jackson, he means it,” he warned, glancing at his friend who was now struggling to breath.”

“S-Sorry,” Jackson ground out between clenched teeth, looking at Ethan and not the teen he knocked down then insulted.

“Are you saying sorry to me, or to my friend?” Ethan asked, his head cocked to the side.

“Ethan, let him down,” a soft voice said firmly from behind the muscular teen.

“Not until he apologizes properly to you,” Ethan snarled, turning to look at his friend, his eyes darkening when he smelled blood.

The teen in the red hoodie placed a small hand on Ethan’s shoulder. “He’s not worth it, Ethan. Just let him go so we can get what we came for and leave. We don’t want to keep the others waiting.”

Ethan’s eyes dropped to the boy’s hand that was on his shoulder, his nostrils flaring. “You’re bleeding.”

The boy turned his hand over, a grimace appearing on his face when he showed his friend the bloody scrapes on his palm. “It’s just a scrape, Ethan, I have had worse.”

Ethan turned back to Jackson, his face hard. “If you ever lay a hand on him again I will break you.” With one last shove to the wall, Ethan dropped the loser at his feet then turned to his friend, taking both his bleeding hands in his. “We need to get these cleaned up.”

“I’m sorry about my friend,” Danny said sincerely when Ethan and the other boy went to walk past him and into the gas station. “Jackson can be a bit of a...”

“Dick!” Ethan growled.

Danny’s smile was blinding. “I was going to say handful.”

The corners of Ethan’s lips twitched up, his eyes softening. “I like dick better.”

“Me too,” Danny said with a smirk and a wink as his eyes slowly raked over Ethan’s extremely muscular form.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” the boy in the red hoodie said with a groan.

Ethan threw his head back laughing. “I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around, Danny,” he said as he grabbed his friend by his hoodie and pulled him into the gas station and towards the bathrooms.

Getting to his feet, Jackson shoved Danny. “I can’t believe you were flirting with him. He tried to kill me.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Did you see him, Jackson? I don’t know who he is or where he came from, but Beacon Hills does not make guys that look like that. Well, unless you count Derek Hale, but that guy is scary. Besides, you deserved it for knocking his friend down in the first place.”

Dusting himself off, Jackson looked back into the gas station. “Did the loser in the hoodie look familiar to you?”

Danny followed his friend’s gaze, but all he saw was the backs of the pair as they entered the bathroom together. “Jackson, I wasn’t looking at the dude you knocked over, I was too busy drooling over Mr. Hot Muscles.”

“Jesus, Danny, can you stop thinking with your dick for once?”

“Not today,” Danny chuckled. “Not after finally meeting the man of my dreams.”

***TW

Ethan steered his friend to the sink, a goofy grin on his face. He could hear the cute dark haired boy, Danny talking about him and he was hoping he’d get the chance to see him again. There was something about the boy that had his wolf’s attention and he was eager to find out why. As eager as he was to find out why, he had to see to his injured friend first.

The boy hissed when Ethan gently placed his hands under the water, washing away the dirt, debris, and blood. “You should have let me kill him,” Ethan growled menacingly.

“Jackson a douche,” the boy chuckled weakly as he allowed his friend to clean his wounds. “He was a douche when we were kids and it looks like he hasn’t changed any.”

“You still should have at least let me break his nose.”

“Yeah, that would have went over well with Deucalion. He told us to keep our heads down, Ethan, not commit murder outside a grubby gas station. I’m a squishy and very breakable human, I don’t heal from Deucalion’s punishments as quickly as you do.”

“Shit, I’m sorry, Kid, I didn’t mean to cause a scene. I just got so angry when I saw you hit the ground like that. It’s bad enough that I have to sit back and watch as Deucalion hurts you, I’m not going to let others get away with it too, especially some rich boy who thinks he’s better than everyone else.”

The kid leaned into his friend and rested his head on his upper arm. Ethan was much taller than the smaller teen by over a foot and was rippling with muscles, unlike the kid who was easily considered too thin to be healthy. “Let’s just get what we came for and get back before we run into anymore trouble.”

***TW

Throwing her hands up in exasperation, Laura smacked her brother on the back of his head. “Jesus, Derek, weren’t you listening,” she cried. “Even if you do willingly join Deucalion’s pack, he will still order you to kill your pack in order to absorb their powers.”

“Yeah, I’m not okay with that plan,” Isaac said, his face pale. 

“Neither am I, pup,” Peter said as he rubbed his hand on the boy’s neck, offering him comfort and scent marking him. Isaac was a tall, muscular boy, but he was also the most timid wolf of Derek’s pack thanks to years of being abused by his father. 

“My betas aren’t ready to fight a pack like the Alpha Pack,” Derek argued. 

“No pack is, son,” Talia said kindly, “but it won’t just be your pack standing against them, it will also be mine. You may be your own alpha now, Derek, but you’re still my son, my pup, and your pack will always be a part of mine. We are in this together.”

Derek slumped in his chair feeling defeated. It wasn’t just his betas that weren’t ready, neither was he. He has only been an alpha for a few months, he was still struggling with the change. He was never meant to hold the alpha spark, Laura was the one born to be an alpha. “So what’s the plan?”

“Take out the emissary first,” John, who had been lingering at the back of the room suggested. He was still feeling drained and on edge after yesterday, hearing that his family was in trouble had him feeling angry and impatient. “If Deucalion doesn’t take no for an answer, we take out their emissary right then and there, no waiting for them to strike first. If this guy is as powerful as they say, we can’t mess around. Arrange for the meeting to be somewhere where either myself or Jordan can hide and if they refuse to leave peacefully without Derek, then we shoot the spark in the head.”

Talia stared long and hard at the sheriff not sure what to think about her brother-in-law’s plan. It wasn’t like John to be so violent, he wasn’t like Peter, kill first then ask questions later. “He has a point, Tally,” Peter said, interrupting her thoughts.

“It’s not our way,” Gregory, Talia’s husband, said with uncertainty.

“Their emissary isn’t like me,” Deaton said standing up and addressing the large pack...or packs. With Derek now an alpha with his own pack, there were thirty wolves in the room. “I would hate to see someone as powerful and as rare as this spark die, but we can’t let him get a chance to attack us. We may be a much larger pack than the Alpha Pack, but we will not be able to defeat this spark. His magic isn’t limited like mine, his magic will respond to his every wish. If he wishes for your heads to explode, then your heads will explode. As much as it pains me, John is right. We need to take out the spark first, and quickly.”

Talia reluctantly nodded her head. “Alright then, it seems we have a plan. Now we wait.”

***TW 

Peter waited until they were in the privacy of their own home before addressing his mate. “Will you be able to do it?”

John didn’t need to ask what his mate was talking about, he could tell that Peter had been wanting to talk to him for hours about his plan. “I have killed before, Peter.”

“In the line of duty, this is different.”

“You’re right, this is different. This is me protecting my family. I’m not going to sit back and do nothing again while the ones I love get hurt and taken away from me.”

Peter had feared that the loss of John’s son was what was fueling him to act so unlike himself. He had no doubt that John would kill to protect the pack, but for him to just suggest killing someone in cold blood was unlike him. Personally he was all for the plan, he just didn’t want his mate living with guilt and regret. “I can do it,” he offered. Killing wasn’t new to him, as left hand he had killed before.

John snorted. “Do you even know how to shoot a gun? You can’t take him out with claws and teeth, they’ll be expecting that.”

John had a point, he was never trained to use a gun, just what nature and mother moon gave him. “You can teach me.”

“The Alpha Pack could be here tomorrow, there’s no time to teach you. I don’t need you accidentally shooting Derek or your sister in the back of the head because you can’t shoot a gun. I got this, Peter.”

Despite his sleepless night and hours of research, Peter couldn’t find any useful information on the spark, it was as though the man had just popped up out of nowhere. “You have a point, I just worry about you.”

“And you know how much I appreciate that, but I got this. I’ll give the guys at the station a heads up to keep an eye out on any strangers in town, especially older blind men. We won’t let them win.”

***TW

Placing the needle and thread on the table beside the bed, Ethan looked at his friend in pity. “I’m sorry, Deucalion has forbidden Aiden from taking your pain.”

“But I get to hold you down,” Aiden, identical twin to Ethan, said with a grimace, his eyes reflecting how sorry he was.

The boy on the bed with three large gashes running down his chest reached out and clutched Aiden’s hand. “Just do it!” He hissed, his face flushed red and eyes a bit wild from the pain he was in.

Ethan looked to his brother then sighed heavily before picking up the needle and thread. “This is going to take a lot of stitches,” he warned.

Aiden looked down at their clasped hands, his eyes flashing red as he glared hatefully at the gold cuff around the boy’s wrist. The gold cuff that was keeping him tied to the demon wolf. “I hate him,” he spat angrily.

“I can’t believe he clawed you this bad and is refusing to let you heal yourself. We are getting ready to take on the most powerful pack in North America and he’s leaving you weak.”

“He’s just proving a point,” the boy said weakly as he stared at the needle in his friend’s hand with dread. It was never fun getting stitches with no pain meds or werewolf mojo, but this wasn’t the first time he had endure this kind of torture and it wouldn’t be his last. “Deucalion ordered us not to cause a scene when we went out earlier and then that mess with Jackson happened. He’s punishing me now, but he will let me heal myself before we actually meet with the Hales. He can’t take them on without me and he knows it.”

Ethan motioned to his brother to hold their friend down, this wasn’t going to be fun. “Are you ready?”

With tears in his eyes, the boy bit his lip and shook his head no. “I’m so sorry, Stiles,” Aiden said as he pinned his friend to the bed and held him down as tightly as he could.

Normally Stiles would try to hide his pain, he hated giving Deucalion the pleasure of seeing him hurting, but since he left earlier with Ennis and Kali to scope out the town, he didn’t have to hold back. Ethan and Aiden were his best friends, his brothers, and they would never take pleasure in his suffering or think less of him for crying.

Aiden wanted to cover his sensitive ears when Stiles let out a scream as the needle pierced his red and inflamed skin, the thread pulling his wound together, but he needed his hands to hold his friend down. Stiles was going to need at least thirty stitches, probably more, to repair the damage Deucalion inflicted. He felt like shit that he couldn’t take his pain from him, but he couldn’t go against Deucalion, not if he didn’t want to end up in worse condition than Stiles. He may be an alpha too, but he was nowhere near as powerful as Deucalion.

Ethan was trying to make it quick, but he was no doctor. Even though the wounds were fresh, they were deep and angry looking. He cleaned them as best as he could, but he could already tell that they were going to get infected. It was so frustrating that Stiles had all this power and could heal himself, but thanks to that damn cuff on his wrist he couldn’t go against Deucalion. If Deucalion ordered Stiles to walk out in traffic, he would have no choice but to do so. Deucalion had complete control over Stiles and his spark. For eight years Stiles has been tied to the monster and there was nothing him or his brother could do to help, not while Deucalion had the matching cuff around his own wrist.

Aiden let out a huge sigh of relief as he buried his face on Stiles’ neck. “He’s passed out. Thank god.”

“He can’t take much more of this,” Ethan said as he continued with his stitching. “Not only is the abuse to his body killing him, but so is having his magic bound so tightly to Deucalion. Have you noticed how much weight he has lost?”

“He hardly eats and what he does eat he usually ends up puking it back up,” Aiden agreed. “Do you think the Hales will be able to help him?”

“I hope so, but I honestly don’t see how, not with Deucalion having the other cuff. The only one who can remove the cuff from Deucalion is Deucalion and you know that he is never going to do that. As long as he has that cuff, Deucalion is unstoppable. Stiles won’t be granted freedom until after he dies.”

Aiden whimpered softly as he placed a kiss on Stiles’ forehead. Stiles meant everything to him, he may not be blood, but he was pack and he loved him as much as he loved Ethan. Stiles had saved their lives...literally. Two years ago, when they were fourteen years old, Deucalion wiped out their entire pack. He had heard rumors that their alpha was a true alpha and he had wanted to absorb his true alpha spark. Even after Deucalion learned the truth, that their alpha wasn’t a true alpha, he still attacked them. Seventeen wolves and three humans were slaughtered that day, including their parents, little sister, and little brother. They would have been slaughtered too had in not been for Stiles. Stiles had begged Deucalion to spare them, he claimed that there was something different about them, something special. Surprisingly the demon wolf had listened to him so instead of him killing their alpha himself, Deucalion had forced them to deliver the killing blow at the same time causing the alpha spark to split between the two of them.

There had been nothing special about them at the time, Stiles had lied to save them, but Stiles had been training his spark for six years by then and he was able to gift them with the ability of merging into one giant, almost unstoppable wolf. He had told Deucalion that he was just bringing out their gift, when in fact he was magically making it so they could do that. Werewolves were good at detecting lies, but Stiles had learned early on how to steady his heart rate. It had worked great for him, until Deucalion had caught him in a lie and ordered him to never lie to him again. He then beat Stiles so badly that he broke his nose, two ribs, and left arm. He made him suffer for three weeks before allowing him to heal himself.

“Finished,” Ethan said as he looked down at his trembling hands that were covered in Stiles’ blood. “Hopefully he’ll sleep for a few more hours.”

“I’ll watch over him while you get cleaned up,” Aiden offered, sliding onto the bed next to Stiles. He wasn’t the smartest, but there had to be a way to help Stiles. A way to free him from Deucalion’s deadly claws.

***TW

“Come in,” John ordered, not even looking up from the paperwork he was catching up on. He was only gone from the station for two days and everything was a mess.

Deputy Jordan Parrish entered the office, placing a laptop on the sheriff’s desk. A few seconds later Peter entered the office looking confused. “I think we found something,” Jordan proclaimed.

John raised a curious eyebrow. “That’s good to hear. Peter, how did you know to be here?”

“Jordan called me on the way here, asked if I could identify a few suspects.”

“Possible suspects,” Jordan clarified. “I was talking to old Mr. Lambert down at the Gas and Go and he was telling me about some trouble he had earlier today. He said two strangers got into it with a couple of local boys. He was going to call it in, but the fight ended before it got out of hand.”

“Who were the local boys?” John asked as he waited for the laptop to boot up.

“Jackson Whittemore and Danny Māhealani.”

“No need to ask who started it,” Peter snorted, “Whittemore is a dick.”

John narrowed his eyes at his mate. “He’s only sixteen.”

“Still a dick,” Peter smirked. “The boy is spoiled and a bully. He use to beat up on Scott before he got bitten. Danny, despite being best friend’s with Jackson, is a good kid.”

“Do you know everything about everyone in town?” John sighed.

“Everything and more. Did you know that your old neighbor, Mrs. Tremble was having an affair with her mailman along with Mr. Gregor down at the coffee shop and Mr. Smith from the funeral home? I even spotted her one day at Davidson Saddlery buying stirrups and a whip. Interesting purchases for a woman who has never ridden a horse before. For a woman of her age and weight she...”

John held his hand up in the air, a look of horror and disgust on his face. “Please, if you continue I will be scarred for life and unable to perform my husbandly duties. Just start the damn footage.”

Chuckling, Jordan started the recording he picked up from the gas station’s security camera. The men were quiet as they watched, except for Peter who mumbled “told he was a dick,” when Jackson purposely slammed hard into the person in the red hoodie, sending them crashing painfully onto the ground.

After the recording ended, Peter eyes flashed blue briefly. “The big one is an alpha for sure, he’s one of the twins. He doesn’t look it, but he’s Scott’s age. From what I have been able to gather the twins have been with Deucalion for two years now. Both him and his twin are alphas, they shared the kill when they killed their old alpha.”

“Damn!” Jordan cursed. “He’s big, he’s not going to be easy to take down.”

Peter looked down at his mate when it dawned on him that he was being uncharacteristically quiet. John was leaning forward with a thoughtful expression on his face staring at the screen where he had it paused on the image of the person Jackson had knocked down. During the encounter the boy’s hoodie never slipped off so his face was never revealed to the camera.

“You got something, John?” Peter asked knowing that John was a professional and a damn good cop with observation skills that were unmatched.

John pursed his lips, his eyes still on the screen. “He’s not a werewolf.”

Peter looked closer to the screen. “I don’t think so, but I can’t see his face.”

John tapped the screen. “His palms are still bleeding. A scratch like that is nothing to a wolf, those would have healed instantly.”

Peter nodded his head. “You’re right, he can’t be a werewolf.”

“He’s also young,” John added. “Look how small and delicate his hands are. Judging by his size and build I’d guess fifteen maybe. I could be wrong, I can’t see his face at all, but I’d bet my job that he’s a teen.”

“Jackson Whittemore is a bully, but he wouldn’t purposely take out an adult like that,” Jordan said, agreeing with his boss.

“Okay,” Peter said, still staring at his mate, confused over why he was starting to look a bit pale.

“Peter,” John sighed, looking up at his mate. “The alpha pack is notorious for being an alpha only pack. If that kid is with them and is not a werewolf...”

Peter’s eyes widened, finally understanding what was upsetting his mate. “He’s their emissary. The alpha pack’s emissary is just a kid.”

Sighing, John leaned back in his chair as he rubbed at his eyes. “And I suggested killing him.”

Grabbing a chair, Peter took a seat, his eyes flicking back to the screen. “He could be older, all we can see of him is his hands. It’s rumored that the alpha pack’s emissary is a spark and extremely powerful. That kid looks like a small breeze could knock him over.”

John didn’t want to shoot a kid, even if he was working for the alpha pack. Even though taking out the emissary was his idea, he didn’t like killing, not unless there was no other choice, but he knew that the alpha pack wasn’t going to give them a choice. They had to strike first if they wanted to come out of this alive. “We need to find out more about this emissary.”

“Unfortunately anyone who has has met the emissary is dead,” Peter reminded. “All we have are rumors. Rumors that were probably started by Deucalion.”

“Maybe he’s not a spark,” Jordan suggested.

Peter shook his head. “Deucalion is a lot of things, a lier is not one of them. He also wouldn’t bother with a common Druid, he only recruits the best. No, that kid is a spark. Does this change anything, John.”

John felt sick to his stomach, but he subtly shook his head no. “Pack comes first. If killing one spark saves the lives of our family, then it has to be done.”

***TW

Stiles was running a fever, he didn’t need a thermometer to confirm it. He was both hot and cold, was sweating yet shivering, and according to Ethan, he was both pale and flushed. He was also aching from head to toe and the claw marks on his chest were inflamed and oozing something putrid. Every time he inhaled and exhaled it forced his chest to move, causing pain so blinding that he had already thrown up four times because of it. He wasn’t doing good at all, if Deucalion didn’t let him heal himself soon he was going to be in some serious trouble.

Hearing someone open the door and enter the room he was in, a windowless office of some sort at the abandoned Beacons Hills First National Bank, Stiles reluctantly forced his eyes open. He tried grinning when his eyes landed on Aiden who was standing anxiously over him holding a steaming bowl of something, but his smile turned into a grimace of pain when red hot pain flared through his chest.

“How are you?” Aiden asked, chewing on his bottom lip in concern. He didn’t want to say it, but Stiles looked like death warmed over and was starting to smell like rotting meat. He had only been injured three days ago, the infection shouldn’t be this bad.

“I’m sure I smell as good as I feel,” Stiles said weakly. 

Aiden gingerly took a seat on the edge of Stiles’ bed. “I brought you some chicken noodle soup. It’s not the canned type either, I bought it from the diner down the street and it smells surprisingly good.”

Stiles smiled wistfully. “I use to love that diner, it had the best damn curly fries.”

“Is it weird being back in Beacon Hills? Back where your dad is?”

Stiles’ heart constricted painfully in his mangled chest, he would give anything to see his dad again. Before his mom left him with Deucalion she told him that his dad didn’t want him anymore, but he didn’t believe her. His dad had always loved him, he knew that without a doubt. “H-Have you heard anything about my dad?” He asked in a small and hopeful voice.

Aiden tilted his head, a small smile appearing on Stiles’ face. He always thought it was cute when the twins did that, it reminded him of the police dogs he use to pet down at the station when he was a kid. He knew that Aiden was listening to see if Deucalion or the other alphas were close enough to hear them talking.

Aiden’s shoulder’s relaxed when he couldn’t hear Deucalion, Kali, or Ennis, they must have went out again. “Your Dad is the sheriff now, has been for seven years. He’s also married to Peter Hale, Talia’s left hand and enforcer. Stiles, your dad has been looking for you even though you have been declared dead since you went missing, he never gave you away.” 

A tear slowly made it’s way down Stiles’ cheek. After his mom left him with Deucalion he had cried for his dad for days, but then Deucalion had threatened to kill his dad if he didn’t shut the hell up and forget about his dad. He knew that Deucalion hadn’t been bluffing. He would have killed his dad and gifted him his head if he hadn’t stopped crying for his dad. So he had stopped begging for his dad and tried to stop thinking about him. It hurt too much to think about his dad, it hurt worse than his training sessions with Deucalion. His dad was alive, that was all that mattered to him.

Aiden held out the bowl of soup. “Please eat something?” He was scared, his brother hasn’t eaten in three days and Stiles couldn’t afford to lose anymore weight.

Stiles scrunched his face up, just the smell of the soup was turning his stomach. “I’m sorry. I know you’re worried, but if I eat that I will only end up vomiting it back up and doing more damage to my chest.”

Aiden’s face fell at hearing that. He knew that Stiles was sick, he could feel his fever without even touching him, but he had hoped he would have at least tried to eat something. “The Hale’s got wind that we are here, Deucalion will let you heal yourself soon.” Or so he hoped, Deucalion hadn’t said anything about Stiles since he punished him, he hasn’t even checked in on him.

Stiles had been sick and injured badly before, but for some reason this felt different. He honestly wasn’t sure he could heal himself this time, his spark felt weak and unstable. He had been chained to Deucalion for too long, his spark imprisoned and unable to breathe and to grow properly. He was also forced to use his spark for hurting others, something that went against who he was. The first eight years of his life he grew up hearing stories from his cop father about helping and saving others, he wanted to be like his dad, he didn’t want to hurt or kill people. His spark knew this and it was dying because it was being forced to do something that went against his beliefs. Not only was his spark dying, but so was he. He could feel it, he didn’t have much time left.

The door slammed open, bouncing off the wall and making Stiles jump. “Get up!” Snarled a brunet female alpha, her eyes flashing red. “Deuce has a surprise.”

Knowing that he didn’t have a choice, that it would only mean more pain for him if he defied Kali, Stiles slid off the bed, his legs trembling as he stood. He went to reach for a shirt, but Kali snatched it out of his hand, her claws tearing through it. 

“You’re still being punished!” Kali spat, her eyes raking down the boy’s chest, a slow smile appearing on her lips. “Damn, kid, you smell like death, but those marks are beautiful though. Deuce is the master at marking up your cute little body.”

“He’s a right Picasso with bloody claws,” Stiles grumbled.

The sound of Kali’s palm making contact with Stiles’ cheek echoed throughout the small room. “Watch your mouth, kid, I’d hate to knock out your teeth...again!.

Stiles didn’t want to give the bitch the satisfaction of knowing that she had knocked out one of his back teeth so he swallowed the tooth along with a mouthful of blood. “I apologize,” he said, dropping his eyes submissively and lightly baring his neck to the alpha bitch.

“So much power, yet such a pathetic little shit,” Kali snickered. “Both of you, out now. You know how much Deuce hates waiting.”

Aiden waited until Kali turned and left in a huff before placing his hand on the small of Stiles’ back to help steady him. “Are you okay?” He knew that Stiles had been hurt, he had smelled his blood.

Stiles leaned into his friend’s hand, thankful for the help. “Bitch knocked out a tooth,” he whispered so only Aiden could hear.

Aiden growled lowly. He hated that he was helpless, that he had to stand back and do nothing as Stiles was abused, but even with their gift, both him and his brother were no match against the three extremely powerful alphas. Just Deucalion alone could take them out, the man was crazy powerful and able to predict their thoughts and actions before doing or saying anything. The man truly was a demon wolf.

Stiles took a deep breath and bit the inside of his cheek to keep from crying out in pain as he walked out to the other room. The pain was so bad that he tasted stomach bile burn the back of his throat and his vision kept going in and out of focus as stars danced before his eyes. He was concentrating so hard on not passing out that he missed Aiden’s gasp from behind him.

“Lovely of the two of you to finally join us,” Deucalion said with a smirk. “Kid, you’re not looking or smelling so good. Are you sick?”

Stiles grit his teeth, he hated being called kid. After his mom handed him over to Deucalion the man had started calling him Kid and then after a few weeks he ordered the other alphas to start calling him kid too. He didn’t want someone to accidentally hear them calling him Stiles, a unique name that was probably one of a kind, and report back to the police that they had found Sheriff Stilinski’s long lost missing son. Ethan and Aiden still called him Stiles in private, but out in public or around others they always called him kid too.

“I think I have contracted Cat Scratch Fever,” Stiles said smartly. Yes, even after years of beatings he still had issues with controlling his mouth.

“Kid, don’t force me to punish you in front of company,” Deucalion hissed in warning.

For the first time since entering the room Stiles looked around, his eyes landing on a man that was hotter than the son. The man was so good looking that it should be illegal. He was tall, built like a tank, had wavy dark hair, perfectly trimmed facial scruff, and amazing green eyes. He could feel the hairs on his arm and the back of his neck stand up as his bound magic reacted to the stranger...something that has never happened to him before.

Deucalion dramatically held his hands out as if he was presenting to a very large crowd. “Everyone, I would like for you to meet Alpha Derek Hale.”

***TW

Derek knew that his mom was going to skin him alive, but he was willing to take the risk. He loved his mother and she was an amazing alpha, one of the strongest in America, but he didn’t agree with her and John’s plan. The alpha pack were too dangerous, even with their emissary dead there were no guarantees that they could defeat them. He wasn’t willing to risk his new and old pack, his life wasn’t worth more than theirs. So he had decided to pay a visit to the alphas to get a feel for them. He didn’t want to join them, he wasn’t a killer, but he was hoping that he could talk to them, to get them to see that he wasn’t a good fit and to hopefully convince them to leave peacefully.

Derek knew instantly upon meeting him that he didn’t like Deucalion. He could easily sense that Deucalion was powerful, probably as powerful as his mother, but where his mother’s alpha spark was pure, Deucalion's was was dark and twisted. It wasn’t just Deucalion’s spark that was tainted, so too were Kali’s, and the massive bear of a werewolf, Ennis. The other two alphas, the two who he had yet to be introduced to, had an alpha spark that was more of a gray, more neutral. These two young alphas weren’t completely good, but they also weren’t straight up evil like the other three.

Derek’s eyes skimmed over the younger alphas then landed on a boy, a very human boy who was badly injured and sick. As soon as his eyes landed on him he couldn’t take them off of him, and it wasn’t just because the boy looked like he was on death’s door with how sickly he looked and how terrifyingly thin he was. The boy, even flushed with a raging fever and chest covered in badly infected claw marks, was absolutely stunning. Those big Bambi eyes and scattered moles just drew him in and had his wolf thumping his tail in excitement. Inhaling deeply, he wanted to both snarl and purr. The boy really did smell like Deucalion had pointed out, but under the scent of festering flesh and sickness, the boy smelled like everything he loved, fallen leaves on a cool, crisp, damp fall morning, freshly baked apple pie, a warm blanket fresh out of the dryer, and magic so strong that it was tickling his sensitive nose hairs. With a painful jolt to his heart, it dawned on him that the dying boy in front of him was his mate.

Derek couldn’t believe that he had finally found his mate and he was part of the alpha pack. Though, by the looks of him, it seemed as though his mate wasn’t a willing member of the pack. He knew a bit about the alpha pack, Peter had sat him down and gave him the basics, so he found it odd that there was a human in the pack. It was common knowledge that Deucalion and the rest of the alphas despised humans. 

Unless... No, it couldn’t be. He could scent magic on his mate, but he couldn’t be Deucalion’s emissary. Emissary’s have to be willing to serve their alpha’s, but listening to their conversation and watching his mate’s body language, he could tell that not only did his mate hate Deucalion, but he was also terrified of him. 

“Alpha Hale,” Deucalion said formally, “you have already met Kali and Ennis, so I would like to introduce you to the twins, Aiden and Ethan. They were originally from the Landon pack and thanks to an incredible gift they share, they have made wonderful additions to my pack. As I’m sure you will too.”

“As I explained earlier, I’m just here to meet everyone and get a feel for how the pack works. I’m not joining yet.”

Deucalion’s eyes darkened. “Derek, my invitation isn’t debatable. You will join my pack.” 

Derek grit his teeth but he wisely kept his mouth shut. “What’s with the human?” He asked as a way of changing the subject.

“Ah, yes, Derek, I have yet to introduce you to my emissary. Derek, I would like to introduce you to Kid, my emissary.”

“Kid? His name is just Kid?” Derek asked, his eyebrows drawing together in confusion.

“Does he need more? Kid belongs to me, he’s mine. He doesn’t need his own name because he is not his own person.”

Derek had to swallow his anger. He wanted to lunge at Deucalion and tear out his throat with his teeth, but he didn’t think he could take on Deucalion let alone four other alphas. His mate wasn't someone’s possession, he was a human being and his own person. Why wasn’t the spark fighting back, why was he taking the abuse? From what he heard the human was a powerful spark, why didn’t he just incinerate the abusive alphas.

Deucalion let out a loud sigh as he shook his head in exasperation. “Not only do you look like your mother, Derek, but I can see that you also have her gentle heart. I do not punish my emissary because it brings me joy, I only punish him when he forces my hand. The kid has been with me for eight years, you would think by now that he would watch his mouth and do as told, but as you can see by the festering wounds on his chest, the kid is a slow learner.”

“He’s going to die.” Derek pointed out, wanting nothing more than to scoop up his mate and run like hell with him.

Deucalion shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe, but I will allow him to heal himself before that happens. The kid is way too powerful to let die over a stupid teenage fight outside a gas station.”

***TW

“Derek, Derek, Derek.” Deucalion purred. “I see that you are still on the fence on whether to join my pack or not, I also see how you keep looking at my little spark. Do you like the boy, Derek?”

Stiles’ head popped up from where he had been resting it against Ethan’s shoulder. He was dying, literally, and Deucalion was making him sit with him while he attempted to convince Hale to join his pack. He could tell that the alpha wasn’t going to join, Derek may look like a murderer, an extremely hot murderer, but the man wasn’t one.

Derek forced himself to control his heartbeat, Deucalion couldn’t find out that the kid was his mate. That would give the demon wolf too much power over him. “He smells!” He answered simply, his nose scrunching up. He wasn’t lying so there wouldn’t be a skip in his heartbeat, the kid really did smell. He smelled like sickness, rotting flesh, and death.

“He’s a cute little thing.” Deucalion said with a wink. “Join my pack and we can work something out. He’s a virgin!”

“Pimping me out now?” Stiles snarled is disgust.

Deucalion shrugged his shoulders. “Whatever it takes to make my pack more powerful. He can’t have you since you are mine, but I’m willing to let him borrow you.”

“He’s not a library book.” Ethan growled, his eyes flashing red.

“No, but he is mine to do with as I please. His mother happily gave him to me, said I could do whatever I wanted to the little demon. If I want him to bend over for Derek, then he’ll bend the hell over and present himself like a good little bitch wanting to be bred.”

Derek was disgusted, he just wanted to leave, but he couldn’t, not without his mate. He also had a feeling that Deucalion wouldn’t let him leave here alive. “I find it hard to believe that the kid is a powerful spark, he looks like a breeze could easily blow him away, not to mention he reeks of death. Truthfully, it’s hard to tell if I’m attracted to him or not, not with how sickly he looks and with his stench burning my nose hairs.”

Ethan started growling, but Deucalion smirked. “I see you need a little demonstration, Derek. I assure you that the kid is powerful and I suppose he has suffered long enough for disobeying me. Kid, heal yourself.” He commanded.

“Thank god!” Ethan murmured, not caring that Deucalion and the Hale alpha heard him. 

Stiles’ eyebrows drew together in concentration, sweat beading on his forehead. Feeling something hit his chin, he wiped his nose, his blood run cold when his finger came away covered in his blood.

“Heal yourself.” Deucalion commanded again.

Stiles’ nose continued to pour blood. “I-I can’t,” he whimpered weakly. “I’m trying, but I can’t feel my magic.”

Deucalion banged his cane hard against the wall. “Heal yourself now, dammit!”

Thanks to Ethan’s supernatural reflexes, he was able to catch Stiles as his eyes rolled to the back of his head as he fell forward and started seizing. Deucalion lunged to his feet, clutching the gold cuff that was burning his wrist. He has worn the gold cuff for eight years and this has never happened before.

“What’s happening!” Aiden cried as he rushed to help his brother. As carefully as he could, he lowered Stiles to the floor then rolled him onto his side. “Why is he having a seizure?”

“He’s too sick and weak.” Ethan whimpered fearfully as hovered over his friend. “He said he couldn’t feel his magic.”

Kali snorted as she watched the human flail around, blood dripping down his face and neck. “Marin warned you, Deuce, that this could happen. The cuff isn’t supposed to be worn twenty four seven, and he’s been wearing it for eight years straight.”

Deucalion’s top lip curled up in a snarl. “He’s too powerful, the cuff shouldn’t be draining him, not like Marin warned.”

“It’s killing him!” Ethan snarled. “You’re killing him.”

“He has been looking more sickly than normal.” Ennis pointed out uncaringly. “I thought it was because you were bringing him back here. You know how anxious the little shit can get.”

Deucalion rubbed at his still burning wrist, his red eyes blazing as he stared down at his spark. The spark couldn’t be dying, not now, not while they were in Beacon Hills. He was powerful, but the Hale pack was much larger and Talia was probably the only wolf in North America that could match his power. Hell, she could fully shift, something that ate at him every time he thought about it. Without the kid, he wasn’t so sure he could take out the Hales. The kid was just too valuable to lose.

“Ethan, take him and put him in his bed!” Deucalion ordered as soon as the kid stopped seizing.

“He needs a doctor.” Derek said, his face pale and eyes wide. His mate was dying in front of his eyes and he hadn’t even had the chance to say words to him. He didn’t understand what was going on, but he had a feeling it had something to do with the gold cuff the she wolf mentioned. He had noticed earlier that both Deucalion and the kid were wearing matching cuffs. 

“He’ll be fine!” Deucalion snapped. “He just needs to rest and recharge.”

Ethan shook his head in disgust. Stiles wasn’t going fine, he was dying, and if they didn’t do something soon, there’d be no helping him. With tears in his eyes, he scooped the spark up and carried him off to the dirty mattress they had drug in for him when they first arrived.

Still rubbing his wrist even though the burning stopped when the kid stopped seizing, Deucalion turned to Derek. “Please stay and get to know the twins better, Kali, Ennis and myself have a druid to visit.”

Knowing it wasn’t a request, Derek nodded his head. He wouldn’t leave anyway, not with his mate dying. Following the twins scent and the scent of death, he entered a room that looked as though it had been an office at one point. He wanted to gag when the overwhelming stench of his mate’s blood smacked him in the face. Looking around, he noticed a pile of bloody rags, rags that were covered in his mate’s blood.

Ethan started growling at the sight of the other alpha, but Aiden smacked him on the arm, shaking his head no. “We need his help.” He whispered softly. Deucalion and the other had left the building, but he could still here them outside.

“Is he alright?” Derek asked anxiously, keeping a safe distance away. He could tell that the twins greatly cared for his mate, unlike the other three alphas.

Ethan looked up at the alpha with pain filled eyes. “He’s dying.”

Aiden covered up Stiles, his friend was out like a light, his exhausted body unable to take anymore. “Hale, if you and your pack plan on fighting us, then now is the time to do it. Deucalion isn’t as strong without him helping him.”

“What’s up with the gold cuff?”

Ethan looked down at Stiles’ cuff, noticing for the first time that there were burn marks on his delicate skin around it. “It binds him to Deucalion. As long as he’s wearing it, Deuce has complete control over his spark.”

“Can’t you take it off?”

Aiden rolled his eyes. “Why the hell didn’t we think of that,” he snarked. “No we can’t take it the hell off, genius, it’s a magic cuff. The only one who can remove it is Deucalion.”

Derek pursed his lips, wishing that his uncle was here. This kind of thing was right up his alley, he knew a lot about magic. “What happens if Deucalion is killed while the cuffs are still linked to each other?”

Ethan and Aiden looked to each other. “We don’t know.” Aiden answered grimly. “Kid doesn’t think there will be any backlash on his end if Deucalion dies, but he has been bound to Deucalion for eight years. Kid isn’t like them, he’s not bad. Everything he has done Deucalion has forced him to do. He can’t fight a command from Deucalion, not with how tightly he is bound to him.”

“Doesn’t he have a real name? Why do you all call him Kid?”

“Deucalion’s orders. Kid is not here willingly. Deucalion has had him since he was eight years old, but his biological father is still looking for him. The kid has a unique, one of a kind name, so we are not allowed to say it. Or tell it to anyone.” Ethan quickly added when he saw that the Hale alpha was going to ask.

“You need to contact your pack and tell them that now is the time to attack.” Aiden stressed, a hint of panic in his voice.

Derek pulled out his phone. “Why are you doing this, aren’t you with Deucalion?”

Ethan snorted. “We are with the spark. Like him, we are not here willingly, but we can’t leave him alone with Deuce. Kid is like a little brother to us, we’d do anything for him.”

“Will you fight against my pack?”

“We have to show some effort if Deucalion orders us or else he will kill us, but we won’t kill anyone?” Aiden answered. “You know how hard it is to fight an alpha’s command.”

Derek nodded his head. “I’ll give them a heads up not to kill you.” Opening his phone, he quickly started texting both his mom and Peter.”

***TW

Peter burst into the sheriff’s office, barely holding on to his shift. “I’m going to fucking kill that stupid boy!” He spat, his claws digging into his palms.

John looked up from his paperwork, a smirk on his lips. “What has Derek done now?” He knew his mate was talking about Derek, only Derek could get Peter this worked up. Though, Scott was coming in at a close second. Peter couldn’t take Scott’s, love everyone and give them a second chance, attitude. He loved Scott, Scott and his son had been best friends and he was still close to Scott and his mother Melissa, but that way of thinking was surely going to get the boy killed.

“Derek walked willingly into Deucalion’s arms.” Peter snarled. “The stupid pup thought he could talk the alphas into leaving peacefully.”

John pinched the bridge of his nose. “I think Scott is rubbing off on him. How could he be so stupid?”

Peter’s eyes kept flicking between his human blue, and his wolf blue. “One good thing has come of this, apparently the spark is sick or injured, I’m not sure which, Derek’s not good at texting. He said that the spark currently can’t access his magic and that we should attack now. He also asked us not to hurt the twins. Apparently my brain dead nephew found his mate.”

John’s eyes widened. “In one of the twins?”

“I guess. Derek didn’t give details.”

“Okay.” John said getting to his feet and pulling out the key to the gun safe. “Are we still taking out spark?”

Peter thought for minute before nodding his head. “Derek’s not the brightest, there’s a possibility that this is a setup. I think it would be safer to take out the spark, Deucalion won’t be expecting a sniper. Can you kill the boy, John?”

“For my pack and family I can.” John answered gravely. “You’re right, it’s not worth the risk to leave the spark standing.”

***TW 

“Whaa da ‘ell ‘appened?” Stiles slurred as he tried to open his stubborn eyes, his head throbbing painfully. “Efan, did you ‘et me ‘runk again?” 

Ethan was on his knees at Stiles’s side, his forehead creased in concern. “Hey, kid, how are you feeling? And no, I didn’t get you drunk, I learned my lesson after last time when you started spouting poetry about your dick.”

“I feel like death.” Stiles answered, his voice a little stronger. “And my dick is poetry worthy. Did I die, is that why feel so bad?”

“Not yet, but it was close. You had a seizure, a very bad one.”

Stiles was finally able to force his eyes open, but his vision was blurry. “Man, that sucks. Guess that’s why it feels like I got run over by a tractor trailer doing a hundred.”

“Don’t ever scare me like that again.” Ethan whimpered. “I can’t lose you.”

“What the hell happened?” Aiden asked as he helped prop Stiles up with some pillows.

Stiles blinked a few times as his vision slowly started coming in to focuses. He was shocked when the first thing he saw was the Hale alpha standing at the foot of his bed with a murderous scowl on his face, but the soft look in his eyes giving away that he might actually be concerned for him. “What’s he doing here?”

“He is going to help you.” Aiden explained as he strained his hearing. He was expecting Deucalion back any minute and he couldn’t risk being overheard.

Stiles gave his friend a sad smile. “Only death can help me, you know that. I don’t have much longer, I can feel it. Aiden, I couldn’t even heal myself when Deucalion ordered me to. Between the cuff and the infection raging throughout my body thanks to Deucalion’s art work, I’m done. Sad part, I’m ready to go. I’m so tired of being used and abused and forced into doing things that are against my beliefs. I just want it to end.”

“So your just going to give up?” Derek asked darkly, his heart going out to his mate. He wanted to hug and slap the boy both at the same time. Hug because of all he has suffered at the hands of the alpha pack, and slap him for wanting to give up, to die.

“Yup!” Stiles said popping his p. “I have been ready to die since the first innocent life Deucalion forced me to take.”

“Look, we don’t have time for this now.” Aiden said with a hint of panic. He could hear Deucalion’s car coming and they had yet to tell Stiles the plan. “Derek’s packs are going to be attacking us in an hour.”

“What?” Stiles cried as he desperately tried to get to his feet. “Dammit, Aiden, I’m not strong enough to protect you and Ethan.”

“I already told my family not to kill them.” Derek explained. 

“Well that makes me feel better,” Stiles said sassily. “And what happens if I’m ordered to wipe out your entire pack? Believe me, I have done it before.”

“You’re not even strong enough to heal yourself. Don’t you see, this is the perfect time for them to attack. It will be three against both Derek’s pack and his mother’s. They can’t lose.”

Stiles looked doubtfully up at Ethan. He desperately wanted to believe that this was going to work, but nothing good ever worked out for him. “This is an awfully huge risk your pack is taking.”

“Deucalion is leaving us no other choice.” Derek said quickly, their time was up, the other alpha’s were back. 

Biting on his bottom lip, Stiles nodded his head. He didn’t think he’d survive the night, either Deucalion was going to kill him, or the bond and the infection was going to. There was even a chance that someone from Derek’s pack would kill him. If he was getting ready to go against a pack with a powerful spark, he’d take the spark out first, it was the smart thing to do. He had heard on more than one occasion Deucalion ranting about Peter Hale and how smart and cunning he was, someone like the Hale enforcer would know that in order to win they would have to take out the most powerful player. How fucked up was his life that his mom gave him to Deucalion only for him to be taken out by his step father?

***TW

Deucalion walked into the room looking like the wolf that just ate Little Red Riding Hood. “Kid, I have something for you.”

Stiles was sitting on the edge of the bed trying to conserve his strength for the big battle that would be happening soon. He was prepared to die, but deep down he really didn’t want to. He wanted to see his dad again, he wanted to see if his dad still remembered and loved him. He missed him so much and he wanted nothing more than for his dad to hug him and tell him he loved him. Even after eight long years he could still hear his dad’s voice and smell his aftershave. His dad had been his everything.

Deucalion smacked the boy hard on the knees with his cane. “Are you listening to me, Kid?”

“Not really,” Stiles admitted truthfully, rubbing at his now aching knees. “I’m kinda of dying here, so if you could please leave me to it.”

Smirking, Deucalion held out a small vial of black liquid. “This isn’t a permanent fix, but this will restore your spark for a few months while I get another cuff made.”

Stiles looked at the potion in disgust. “That looks like sludge, I’m not drinking that. Where the hell did you get it anyway?”

“A druid friend of mine.” Deucalion bit out. “Now drink the damn potion or else I start breaking bones.”

Stiles reluctantly took the potion. He didn’t want to take it, but he also didn’t want any of his fragile, human bones broken. “How long does it take to kick in?” He asked, mentally calculating the time. He couldn’t get his spark back before the Hale pack showed up. The Hale pack wouldn’t stand a chance if he is at full power.

“She said it will take about an hour. Now stop procrastinating.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Stiles saw Derek check the time on his phone. An hour was cutting it close, he had to buy them more time. “What if I puke it back up? I haven’t been able to keep anything down in almost a week.”

With a snarl, Deucalion backhanded the brat. “I spent a small fortune on that potion, puke it back up and I’ll kill you myself.”

Stiles licked his busted lip, grimacing when he tasted blood. “Why go through all the trouble tracking down and buying the potion if you’re just going to kill me anyway?”

Red eyes flashing, Deucalion backhanded him again. “If you don’t swallow that shit now, then Kali and Ennis will force it down your throat.”

“Just take it.” Derek said, clenching his teeth to keep from lashing out at the demon wolf.

“I really don’t think blood and sludge will taste good together.” Stiles chuckled nervously as he licked more blood from his lips.”

“Please just take it.” Ethan said softly as Kali stepped forward, a manic look in her eyes. She loved hurting Stiles, but unfortunately for her Deucalion kept her on a tight leash as far as torturing Stiles was concerned.

“Fine!” Stiles whined dramatically. Popping the cork off, he tossed back the black sludge, grimacing as the thick, bitter substance slid down his throat. For a brief second he contemplated throwing it back up, with how vile it was it would be easy to do, but Deucalion would kill him for sure if he did that. 

Deucalion rubbed his hands together, grinning. “Good boy, Kid. As soon as that kicks in we’ll get you healed up. Until then, Alpha Hale and I have a few things to discuss so we can finalize his place in the pack.”

“What, like killing his beats and absorbing their sparks?” Stiles sneered.

Deucalion had had enough. With a loud roar, he grabbed the spark by the neck then slammed him into the wall. “I don’t know what has gotten in to you this evening, Kid, I thought I had beaten the attitude out of you years ago. Keep it up and I’ll...” Deucalion was cut off by a loud, furious roar coming from outside.

Ennis and Kali both shifted into their beta forms, their red eyes glowing. “It’s Talia!” Kali hissed around her sharp canine teeth.

Deucalion lowered his spark back to his feet, his head tilted so he could hear what was going on outside. “She’s not alone. It sounds as though the entire pack is here.”

Ennis spun around and confronted Derek. “You led them here!” He snarled hatefully.

“Calm, Ennis.” Deucalion ordered. “You know Talia, she isn’t a wolf you can lead around. Let’s go outside and greet our guests. Kid, now would be a good time to heal yourself.”

Stiles hands started trembling as he tried to force his still too weak magic to heal him. Feeling blood drip onto his top lip, he smirked up at Deucalion. “Sorry, looks like you’re on your own for this fight. You only have yourself to blame for this, maybe if you had been kind to me and actually cared about me, you wouldn’t have needed to cuff me and beat me. You were warned that wearing this cuff would eventually kill me. I’m dying and it’s your fault.”

“Always so dramatic.” Deucalion chuckled dryly. “You are powerful, Kid, but I don’t need you to take down the Hale pack, but if I’m dying tonight, then so are you. Come, let’s go greet our guests.”

Stiles was grateful when Aiden put an arm around his waist to help him walk. By now his entire body was trembling with his effort to remain on his feet. “I’m really not feeling good.” He mumbled into Aiden’s neck.

“You’re burning up.” Aiden said, his concerned eyes flicking to his brother’s. He wasn’t a doctor and he really wasn’t familiar with human medical stuff, but he was pretty sure Stiles’ fever was high enough to kill a normal human.

Derek was having a hard time controlling his wolf. The stench of death surrounding his mate was getting stronger by the hour. This had to end fast, Stiles desperately needed medical help.

Deucalion stopped before exiting the door. Without turning around, he addressed Derek in a deadly calm voice. “Derek, if you turn on me, not only will I slash the kid’s throat, but I’ll also kill everyone you love before granting you a slow and painful death. Your mother is a powerful alpha, but I am the demon wolf.”

Stiles wanted to roll his eyes, but he was too weak to do so. He had never met anyone as full of themselves as Deucalion. Feeling his spark start to tingle throughout it body with renewed life, he knew he had to get this confrontation going before Deucalion ordered him to heal himself again. “Are we all just going to stand here staring at the door?”

Deucalion clenched his fists tightly, but after a minute relaxed them. “You’re lucky, Kid, that I need you to heal yourself, but rest assured, I will be punishing you after this for your smart mouth. Bringing you back to Beacon Hills has brought out the smart mouth in you and I don’t like it.”

“Back?” Derek questioned curiously.

“Oh, why yes, Derek, our little spark was born here and spent his first eight years here before his mother gave him to me. Found the crazy bitch trying to drown the little beast outside of Seattle. Technically the kid should be dead, he had been underwater for a good five minutes by the time I came upon them, but the threat to his life triggered his spark and made it so he could breath underwater. Even fully submerged I could scent the magic pouring off of the child, it had been intoxicating. It didn’t take much to convince the woman to give me her son, I just had to promise that I would kill him. I made the promise, I just didn’t tell her when I would kill him.”

Stiles leaned more of his weight against Aiden as he remembered that day. Over the years he had tried to block out the memory, but he could still see the deranged grin on his mother’s face as she put all her weight on his chest as she held him under the icy cold water. He had been terrified of his mom by that point, she had been hurting him for months before she told him they were going on a little trip. He should have told his father about the beatings, but he had loved his mother, even when she was hurting him. Maybe if he had told his dad about his mom he would have been there to stop her from taking him away. There were times that he wished his mom had succeeded in killing him, death was preferable than living with the alpha pack.

Aiden had heard the story of how Deucalion found Stiles countless times, but it still broke something inside of him hearing how Stiles’ own mother had tried to kill him. How could a mother do such a horrible thing to her child? Giving his friend a reassuring smile, he followed Deucalion out the door and into the early evening air.

***TW

“You sure you don’t want me to take out the spark?” Parrish asked as he hunkered down next to his boss.

“Do you want to kill a kid?” John asked from where he was laying on his stomach on a roof across from the old bank the alpha pack was using as their base.

“No!” Parrish quickly answered. “But I’ll do it if I have to.”

John’s keen eyes tracked the movement of his pack as they surrounded the bank, his mate standing proud and strong next to his alpha sister. “I can do it, Jordan. I don’t want to, but this kid is too powerful.”

“Yeah.” Jordan sighed. “I understand why it needs to be done, I just wish we could have talked to the kid first. I dunno, maybe we could have talked him into leaving the alphas.”

“Unfortunately the alphas didn’t give us the chance to talk to the spark and we have to attack while he’s weak.” John tensed as the bank doors opened and seven people stepped out. He only took a minute to briefly scan the alphas and Derek before focusing all his attention on the smallest person. He really couldn’t make out what the boy looked like, not with his hoodie once again hiding his face, but he could tell by the way he was leaning on the muscular alpha twin that he wasn’t doing too hot. Hopefully this wasn’t a setup after all.”

John could feel his stomach wanting to crawl up and out his throat. He really didn’t want to kill the kid, he could be an innocent for all they knew, but with just a thought that boy could kill all his loved ones. He couldn’t lose anyone else, he just couldn’t. 

Saying a prayer of forgiveness, John leaned forward his finger going to the trigger of his sniper rifle.

***TW

“Talia!” Deucalion greeted, as he held his arms open in welcome. “Have you come to watch as your son submits to me and officially joins my pack?”

Talia’ face remained stone cold. “That’s Alpha Hale to you.”

Deucalion placed his hand over his heart. “Talia, I have known you since you were just a little girl in pigtails, I don’t think that we need to be so formal with each other.”

Talia’s eyes flashed. “You sneak into my territory like a snake and try to steal my son, we are not friends Deucalion.”

“Steal your son?” Deucalion cried in mock outrage. “Derek came to me all on his own.”

“Well, he’s not the brightest.” Peter snarled, glaring hard at his nephew.

Derek wanted to shy away from his uncle’s glare, but he held his head high. He may not have totally thought out his plan to confront Deucalion alone, but he had done it to protect his pack. Not just his pack, but also his mom and the rest of the Hale pack. He knew that Deucalion really didn’t want him, he just wanted to hurt his mother.

Stiles was able to stand up a little straighter on his own, his magic was getting stronger by the minute. He was still burning with fever from the raging infection seeing as he couldn’t heal himself until Deucalion demanded it again, but he was definitely feeling stronger.

“I’m not letting you take my son, Deucalion. He’s not a killer, not like you. I don’t want to fight you, you can leave peacefully, but if it’s a war you want, then it’s a war you will get.”

Deucalion tensed as dozens of wolves stepped out of the shadows. He had known they were there, he had heard their heartbeats, but it was still impressive to see the size of the Hale pack. Impressive and concerning. Without his spark, he wouldn’t be leaving here alive.

Feeling the hairs on the back of his neck tingle, Stiles looked around, his eyes landing on the roof of the building across from them. Using a small amount of his spark, not enough for Deucalion to notice, he was able to make out two men, one with a rifle. He wasn’t stupid, he knew that the bullet was going to be for him. It was the smart thing to do, take out the powerful spark before he could take you out.

Feeling a lump in his throat, Stiles looked to his twins. He loved them, he loved them like true brothers, his death was going to kill them, but it was for the best. Hopefully the Hale pack will spare Aiden and Ethan and offer them a place in their pack. Despite their size and appearance, the twins weren’t killers. Every bad thing they have done was to keep him safe from Deucalion and to keep each other safe.

Stiles blocked out the conversation that was going on between the two powerful alphas and took a couple steps to the right. He didn’t want the sniper to accidentally kill his twins or Derek. He really hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to Derek, but he seemed like an alright guy. He was hot, that was for sure, and on the broody side, but he seemed like someone that cared a great deal for his pack. He had entered the den of the demon all alone after all just to try to find a way to save his betas. 

Looking back to the roof, Stiles’ heart skipped a few beats when he saw light reflect off of something on the snipers chest. Pushing a bit more of his spark into his eyes, he paled when he spotted a silver star...a badge. Oxygen was forced out of his lungs as his eyes jumped to the sniper’s face. It was a face he has longed to see for eight lonely and painful years. It was the face that he honestly thought he would never see again. Tears fell from his eyes as he stared hungrily at his dad. He wanted to yell and scream and tell him that he was his son, but he couldn’t put his dad at risk like that. He had to die, it was the only way now to save his dad. He could tell that Deucalion was stalling, giving him time to replenish his magic so he could order him to kill everyone...including his dad.

Catching movement out of the corner of his eyes, Derek watched as the spark stepped away from the group. Ever since hearing that the spark was originally from Beacon Hills, something had been nagging at the back of his brain. There was something familiar about the story, he just couldn’t place what. The boy kinda of looked familiar to him, but unfortunately his true scent was now being overpowered by the scent of sickness and death so he couldn’t tell if his scent reminded him of anyone.

Noticing that the spark wasn’t paying attention to what was going on, that he was looking off in the distance, he followed his eyes to the building across the street. All the color drained from Derek’s face when he spotted John and Jordan on the roof with a rifle. A rifle that was pointed right at his mate. Looking back to his mate, it quickly dawned on him that he forget to tell his uncle not to take out the spark. The spark knew that they were there though, he knew what was going on and he was making it so he was an easy target. The spark was going to let John kill him.

Derek opened his mouth to scream no, to stop John from pulling the trigger, but it was too late. It all happened so fast, and he honestly couldn’t tell you if he heard the gun go off or not, but one minute the spark was looking up at a John with tears in his eyes, and the next minute he was laying in a rapidly growing pool of blood. After that it was chaos, there were cries, snarls, roaring, the sound of flesh hitting flesh, but during it all he couldn’t take his eyes off of his mate who was laying unmoving on the dirty pavement.

***TW

John’s finger pressed against the trigger as he looked through the scope. He couldn’t shoot yet, not with the boy standing in front of Derek. He couldn’t risk the bullet going through the kid and into Derek, even if it wasn’t a wolfsbane bullet.

“Can he see us?” Jordan whispered. “I swear he’s looking up here at us.”

John was surprised when the spark took a few steps away from Derek and everyone else. If Jordan was right and the spark could see them, why was he making himself a better target? “I don’t think he can see us.” He said, feeling a chill go up his spine. 

Taking his finger off the trigger, John shook his hand out then placed it back on the trigger. Looking back through the scope, he adjusted his rifle slightly. He didn’t want to do this, but he wanted to make sure that one bullet did the job and did it quick. He wasn’t a monster, he didn’t want the spark to suffer. He wanted his death to be swift and painless.

Feeling that he had the perfect shot, John went to pull the trigger right as the boy looked up right at him, his hood slipping off. “Stiles!” He cried breathlessly while at the same time pulling the trigger, his shoulder bumping the rifle slightly in his shock.

Jordan turned sharply to his boss. “What?”

“That’s my son!” John cried in disbelief as he lunged to his feet and started racing across the roof. John may have only seen a brief glimpse of the spark from a very far distance through a scope, but he’d recognize those eyes and moles anywhere.

“I shot my son!” John sobbed as he burst through the door that led to the stairwell. If he had only seen the boy’s face seconds before, but he had only gotten a good, clear look at him at the exact same time he was pulling the trigger. It hadn’t been a good shot, not the between the eyes he was originally going to go for, he had jerked the rifle a bit at the last second as he was pulling the trigger.

John took the six flight of stairs in seconds and then was bursting out the front doors and racing across the parking lot. There was fighting going on all around him, but he only had eyes for the body laying unmoving on the ground.

John crashed to the ground beside his son, his knees slamming painfully into the hard ground. “Stiles!” He sobbed as his eyes raked over the boy’s face. There was no doubt in his mind, this boy was his son.

Stiles’ eyes fluttered before slowly opening. “Da-daddy!” He choked out, blood dripping from his mouth.

“Oh god, Stiles!” John cried as he put pressure on his son’s chest where the bullet tore through it. “I-I didn’t know, baby. I didn’t know it was you.”

Stiles coughed, flecks of blood spraying the air. “S’okay, daddy. He can’t u-use me now to h-hurt anyone else. Thank you, daddy. S’okay, daddy.”

With tears in his eyes, John looked frantically around for help. “Don’t leave me, Stiles, not again. Please, baby, please stay with me. Help! Someone help me!”

John literally threw himself on top of his son when one of the alpha twins ran up to them, their red eyes glowing dangerously. He didn’t care if the alpha ripped him to shreds, he wasn’t letting anyone hurt his baby boy ever again.

Ethan knelt down next to Stiles, his eyes clouded with concern. “I’m not going to hurt him, he’s like a brother to me. We have to get him to a hospital, he was already sick before he was shot.”

Sitting up, John jerkingly nodded his head. “My car is just across the street, can you carry him?”

Ethan looked around for his brother, quickly finding him fighting Ennis with Derek. The two were holding their own, but he knew Aiden would do much better if they could merge. Ennis was big, strong, and a highly skilled fighter, he doubted that his brother and Derek could take him without his help. Quickly scooping Stiles up, he bolted across the street, the sheriff hot on his heels. “I can’t go with you, I need to make sure Deucalion dies. Deucalion and Stiles are magically bonded by the cuff he is wearing, he won’t be free of him until he is dead. Stiles isn’t bad, he never wanted to hurt anyone, Deucalion has control of his spark and he’s helpless against his orders.”

“Fuck!” John cursed as he jumped behind the wheel. “Take care, kid.” He said as he slammed his foot on the gas pedal.

***TW

Ethan and Aiden separated from their massive alpha form, their bloody bodies rolling across the ground. “Fucking tough bastard!” Aiden groaned in pain, the wounds inflicted on him by Ennis refusing to heal.

“Got him though.” Ethan wheezed as he struggled to sit up. “Is Hale okay, he took a nasty hit to the head?”

“Still breathing.” Derek grunted, clutching at his head. Prying his eyes open, he looked around, bolting upright when he noticed his mate was gone. He had tried to get to him after he was shot, but Ennis had jumped him and he had to focus on fighting him if he didn’t want to get his head ripped off. “Where’s the spark?”

Groaning, Ethan slowly got to his feet, grimacing as blood dripped into his eyes. He didn’t remember taking claws to the head, but he must have. Explains why his head was pounding. “The sheriff took him to the hospital after the bastard shot him.”

“What?” Aiden cried as he quickly got to his feet despite his serious injuries. “He was shot?”

“In the chest.” Ethan said, wiping blood from his eyes. “It didn’t look good. We have to get the cuff off Deucalion so he can heal himself. I just pray that he’s strong enough to do it.”

After a frantic search, Derek noted that everyone in his pack were still alive, though Laura, Cora, and Erica looked as though Kali had roughed them up pretty good before they killed her. Actually, his mom must have killed her seeing that none of the girls were sporting new red eyes. Noting that their injuries were already slowly starting to heal, he searched some more until he found his mother in full shift towering over Deucalion with her jaws clamped tightly over his throat, blood dripping down his neck. Peter was at her side in his beta shift, his claws dug deeply into the demon wolf’s stomach.

“Shit!” Derek cursed as he limped to his mom and Peter, the twins also limping behind him. “Don’t kill him yet, mom.” The huge black wolf didn’t acknowledge her son, but she did let up on the pressure around Deucalion’s throat.

“Derek, he needs to die!’ Peter bit out, his claws still in Deucalion’s stomach. He smirked when the wolf started choking on his own blood.

Kneeling down, Derek lifted up Deucalion’s arm, the one with the cuff around it. “This is how he’s controlling the spark.”

Despite the position he was in, claws in his stomach and teeth around his throat, Deucalion started laughing, blood spraying everywhere. “You kill me, you kill the kid.”

Peter looked to his nephew. “John took out the spark.”

“He didn’t, but he did shoot him then rush him to the hospital.” Derek explained. “The Spark can heal himself, but the cuff has to come off first. We just don’t know if Deucalion dying with the cuff on will hurt the spark in any way.”

Deucalion gave a bloody smirk. “The boy will die.”

Peter was confused, why the hell would his mate want to save the spark after shooting him? “Why do we care about the spark?”

“He’s the sheriff’s son.” Ethan said at the exact same time Derek said, “he’s my mate!”

Peter’s claws shifted in Deucalion’s stomach causing the man to cry out. “The Spark is Stiles?” He asked in disbelief. “And your fucking mate, Derek?”

“That’s why the story sounded familiar to me.” Derek said with wide eyes.

Deucalion started cackling madly. “You can’t kill me, not without killing him. Then again, the kid can’t heal himself unless I order it of him, and I think I’ll just let the little monster die.”

Peter, who had been studying the cuff Derek was still holding up, ripped his claws carelessly out of Deucalion’s stomach then used one of his claws, that were dripping with blood and chunks of flesh and innards, and sliced off Deucalion’s hand. “There, that should do it.”

Derek dropped the handless arm in disgust. “A little warning next time.” He growled.

Deucalion was wailing in pain, the smirk gone from his face. “Go ahead, sister.” Peter ordered, backing away from the pair.

Deucalion’s screams turned into wet gurgling sounds and there there was silence. Licking the blood from her lips, Talia shifted back, not caring that she was naked. “Is the spark really John’s son.”

“He is.” Aiden, who was looking much better now that he was finally healing, confirmed. 

Peter bent down and picked up Deucalion’s severed hand then pulled the cuff off of it, tossing the hand over his shoulder. “If we would have killed him first without removing the cuff, the spark may have suffered a severe magical backlash. He’ll still probably suffer one, but it shouldn’t be as bad.”

“Oh gross!” Laura cried as she stepped over the demon wolf’s hand. “Did I hear correctly, did Derek find his mate in the spark.”

Derek’s ears turned a bright red. “I need to get to the hospital.”

“You need to go home and shower first.” Talia said smiling softly at her son.

Looking to the twin alphas, Peter eyes flashed blue. “What about these two? They’re part of the alpha pack and have killed innocents. I say we kill them.”

Talia, still naked, studied the boys in question. “Why were you with Deucalion?”

“Stiles.” Aiden answered simply, refusing to back down from the powerful alpha. “Stiles saved us after Deucalion slaughtered our pack. He made it so we could merge into a super wolf.”

“He made it so we would be valuable to Deucalion.” Ethan added. “We weren’t with him willingly, but we couldn’t leave Stiles alone with them. Yes we killed innocent, but we did what we had to do, to not only save Stiles, but also our own necks.”

“Stiles cares deeply for them.” Derek said, taking up for the twins. “I also wouldn’t have been able to defeat Ennis without their help. I’ll take responsibility for them until they figure out what they want to do.”

“We can’t have four alphas in our territory.” Peter snarled.

“They can stay for now.” Tali said still eyeing up the young men. Despite their size, she could tell that they were still teens and her gut was telling her that they weren’t bad kids, just kids that needed help and guidance. If they wanted to remain in her territory they would have to give up their alpha spark, but she had a feeling that that wouldn't be an issue for them.

Peter wasn’t happy with his alpha’s decision, but right now he was too worried about his mate to argue with her. If John lost his son again, especially by his own hands, he knew that there would be no saving him. John almost drank himself to death once, if Stiles died, he had a feeling that John would be joining him...by his own hands.

Wiping Deucalion’s blood off on his hands, Peter looked to his alpha. “I need to get cleaned up and then get to the hospital. Can you clean up this mess?” Normally it was his job to clean up the messes and hide the bodies, but right now John was his priority.

“Go, Peter, be with your mate.” Talia said smiling sadly. “Keep me posted.”

Peter knew his sister well enough to be able to read between the lines. Talia was worried about John, she loved his mate, but she was also worried about an unknown spark in her territory that could potentially be a danger to them. The boy may be John’s son by blood, but John hasn’t seen him in eight years. No one knew anything about the boy, other than he has spent the last eight years being controlled by the demon wolf.

***TW

“Sheriff, please sit down.” Jordan begged as he watched the man pace back and forth in the hospital waiting room. The sheriff looked absolutely wrecked, and he had every right to be. He has only been a deputy for a short time, but he knew all about the sheriff’s missing and presumed dead son. He couldn’t imagine what the sheriff was going through right now. The sheriff’s son could die, and it would be John’s fault since he was the one that pulled the trigger. 

Freshly showered, Peter walked into the waiting room and pulled his mate into his arms. “Any news?”

Shaking his head no, John clung to Peter. “I shot him, I shot my own boy.”

“You didn’t know it was Stiles, John. Please don’t blame yourself.”

Stepping out of his mate’s arms, John looked down at his blood stained hands. “He let me do it. He knew I was up on the roof and he stepped away from everyone so he’d make an easier target. Peter, he thanked me for shooting him.”

“Fuck.” Peter cursed. “How is he even still alive? John, I know how accurate you are with a gun, that boy should have a bullet between the eyes right now.”

“I recognized him, but not until it was too late. I-I was able to shift the rifle at the last second, but it wasn’t enough. God, Peter, I shot my boy in the chest.”

“You didn’t know.” Peter repeated. “You didn’t know it was Stiles, how could you?”

“I can’t lose him again, Peter, I can’t lose my boy. He has to make it. He called me daddy, Peter.”

“He’s tough,” Peter tried reassuring, his heart breaking for his mate. “He survived eight years with Deucalion, he’ll survive this.”

John eyes took on a mantic look as he grabbed his mate by the arms. “He has a cuff around his wrist, Peter, one of the alpha twins told me it was how that bastard is controlling my boy. We have to get it off of Deucalion. Is he still alive?”

Reaching in his pocket, Peter pulled out the cuff. “He’s dead, they’re all dead. Well, the twins are still breathing even though I think they shouldn’t be, but Derek is claiming responsibility of them. I think my sister is hoping they’ll relinquish their alpha sparks.”

John stared hatefully at the cuff in his mate’s hand. “So what does that mean for my son now?”

Having just entered the room, Ethan cleared his throat. “It should mean that Stiles can now heal himself, but he was in pretty bad shape before he was shot. He was dying. Stiles has been struggling for a while now with his magic being bound, it was getting harder and harder for him to access it. Deucalion also roughed him up pretty bad the other day and refused to let him heal himself. He has a real bad infection and when Deucalion finally ordered him to heal himself, he started seizing.”

“Roughed him up how?” John asked, his blood shot eyes darkening.

“John.” A female’s voice called, saving Ethan from having to answer.

John spun around, his heart pounding in his chest. At seeing the normally unflappable nurse standing there crying, John felt his knees go week. He would have crumbled to the ground if Peter hadn’t caught him. “Please, Mel, please don’t tell me my son is gone.”

“He’s not,” Nurse Melissa McCall, Scott’s mom, quickly answered, “but it’s bad, John. We honestly can’t figure out how he is even still alive right now.”

“I shot him!” John cried, his entire body trembling.

Melissa shook her head. “John, the gun shot wound is the least of his issues. The bullet slightly punctured his lung, but it went clear through. Stiles’ body shows years of abuse as well as severe malnutrition and dehydration. He has liver and kidney damage, a weakened heart, swelling on the brain, weak bones, stunted growth, but worst of all, he has lacerations to his chest that are so severely infected that he has life threatening blood poisoning and a fever of a hundred and fifteen. John, he should be dead. Right now he’s in surgery, but he’ll be moved to the ICU after. I wish I had better news, but it’s not looking good.”

Melissa wiped at her wet eyes. “As soon as he gets settled I’ll see about you sitting with him.” Sniffling, she walked up to the man and gave him a hug. “God, after all this time. I can’t believe it’s Stiles.”

“I just can’t imagine what he’s been through.” John gasped breathlessly. “He must have been so frightened and confused. Melissa, he always saw me as a superhero that saved the day, he must have thought for sure that his daddy was going to save him. I let him down, I let my little boy down.”

“He never stopped loving you.” Aiden said softly. “He didn’t talk about you much because it hurt too much, but when he did you could tell how much he loved you.”

“Stiles is tough, he’s going to pull through this.” Ethan added. “And as soon as he’s strong enough he’ll be able to heal everything with his spark.”

“Oh, that reminds me.” Melissa said digging in her pocket. “This fell off while we were working on him. It’s weird, it’s like it just melted off of him. There’s no clasps or hinges or anything.”

Peter took the second cuff, examining it before putting it in his pocket. He wasn’t an expert on magic, but he knew a lot. “These cuffs weren’t meant to be used long term or around the clock. I’m surprised that they didn’t kill him a long time a go.”

“Stiles is very powerful.” Aiden smirked. “And now that the cuff is off and he has full control over his spark, I expect him to be even more powerful. Things may look grim now, but as soon as his spark recharges he’ll be able to heal himself with no issues.”

“I hope you’re right.” John said tiredly. 

***TW

Melissa tapped John lightly on the arm. “John, you can come back now.”

John was on his feet before he had a chance to fully wake up. “How is he?” He asked groggily.

“He made it through surgery, everyone is calling it a miracle.” Melissa said tiredly. “From what I understand he woke briefly, but wasn’t very coherent. They were able to clean out the bullet wound as well as the lacerations. They have him on some heavy doses of antibiotics as well as pain killers so he’s going to be out of it for a while. He’s still in critical condition, John, he’s a very sick boy, but I feel better about his chances now than what I did three hours ago. He’s going to need another surgery in a couple days to finish closing the lacerations, there was only so much they could do with how infected they were. Hopefully he’ll respond quickly to the antibiotics and get that infection knocked out of his system.”

“The bullet wound...”

Melissa pulled her distressed friend in for a hug. “John, it’s a bullet wound so it’s not pretty, but it is nothing compared to the claw lacerations on his chest. I know how good of a shot you are, it could have been worse. If by some chance Stiles doesn’t pull through, it’s not going to be because you shot him, it’s going to be because of the infection ravaging his malnourished body.”

With tears in his eyes, John nodded his head. “Can Peter come back with me?”

Melissa looked to Peter, smiling when she saw how he was hovering anxiously at his mate’s side. She couldn’t imagine having someone love her as much as Peter Hale loved John. “Of course.”

Peter looked to the twins, who had refused to leave the hospital, as well as Derek who showed up shortly after the twins. “You boys should really get some rest.”

“I’m good.” Derek grunted, refusing to leave his mate.

“We’re not leaving Stiles.” Ethan said adamantly.

“We don’t have anywhere to go anyway.” Aiden added.

Derek looked pained for a second, but with a resigned sigh he turned to the twins. “The two of you can stay with me until you figure out what you want to do.”

“We want to stay with Stiles.” Ethan quickly answered. “You don’t understand, Stiles is more than family to us. Because of his spark, the three of us are connected, are bound magically. It’s hard to explain, but we’re staying in Beacon Hills if Stiles is, even if we have to give up our alpha spark.”

“Alright, but until Stiles gets out of the hospital, the two of you will be staying with me.” Derek said firmly. “My mother only let you remain in her territory because I offered to take responsibility of you.”

“Fine.” Ethan conceded. “One of us will go to the bank to retrieve our things and take them back to your place, and we promise not to cause trouble for you or your mother. We know how much it means to Stiles to be back here, we’re not going to make him choose between us and his father.”

“Thank you.” John said sincerely.

“Come on, John, my shift ends in fifteen minutes and I really need some sleep. I’m getting too old to be pulling doubles.” Melissa sighed.

John was both excited and terrified to see his son again. He still couldn’t believe this was happening, that his baby boy was back...that Stiles was alive. He had spent the past eight years not just mourning his son, but also not knowing the truth of what happening to him. To him, the not knowing was worst. Was Stiles alive? Was Stiles dead? If he was dead, how did he die? Where was his body? Had Claudia sold him? Was he happily living with another family? Not knowing what happened to Stiles haunted him almost every second of every day for the past eight years.

“You okay?” Peter asked softly, reaching out and taking his mate’s hand. “You’re heart is racing.”

John took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. “Honestly, I don’t know if I’ll ever be okay, but my boy is back and that’s all that matters. I’m going to do right by him this time. This time I’m going to be a good father.”

“You were a good father last time, John, Claudia was sick and you didn’t know. I’m not going to lie and say everything is going to be okay now, we don’t know Stiles or what he has been through, but I will be at your side helping you and Stiles however you need.”

John’s heart literally stopped beating when he entered his son’s hospital room and saw him laying on the bed, his eyes closed. Even too thin and sick and face covered in bruises, his boy was beautiful. It was like when he was a baby and seeing him for the first time all over again. “I can’t believe he is real.”

Walking up to the bed, Melissa checked the machines to make sure everything was okay then she checked his vitals and the IV that was in Stiles’ arm. “He’s still feeling the anesthesia as well as the pain killers so I’m not expecting him to wake for a couple more hours. I don’t know anything about sparks or magic, but I would assume if someone’s magic is drained, that it would also effect their health and energy. Don’t be worried if he sleeps more than just a couple more hours, his body needs a lot of healing.”

“Thank you for everything, Mel,.” John said still staring at his son. He never wanted to take his eyes off of him ever again. He wondered if Stiles would protest if he put an ankle monitor on him? He could see it now, he was going to become one of those paranoid parents that constantly had to know where their children were every second of the day. That’s all well and good for smaller children, but Stiles was sixteen and he spent the past eight years being controlled by a mad man. It was going to be hard, but he was going to have to give his boy some space, he wasn’t eight years old anymore.

“John, does Scott know about Stiles?” Melissa asked as she started walking towards the door.

John left the battle shortly after it started so he looked to Peter. “I don’t know.” Peter answered. “When I left just myself, Talia, and Derek knew.”

“Those two were glued to each from the moment they could walk.” Melissa said wistfully, remembering when her son and Stiles were toddlers. Her and Claudia had been good friends before she got sick, Stiles and Scott had been raised as close as brothers. “I’ll tell Scott about him.”

Peter waited until Melissa left before moving one of the chairs closer to the bed. “You should sit, you look dead on your feet.”

Ignoring his mate, John continued to stare at his son, still not believing that this was true. Stiles looked so much different than his eight year old self, yet at the same time he looked exactly the same? He wanted to reach out and touch his son, to reassure himself that he was truly real, but he didn’t want to risk waking him. “Deucalion is dead right, no chance of him coming back?”

Peter snorted. “John, Talia just didn’t rip his throat out, she ripped his head clean off his body. He’s not coming back, not even as a zombie.”

“And the other two alphas?”

“Dead.” Peter reassured. “The only ones left are the twins, and I have a feeling we won’t be getting rid of them. They seem awfully attached to your boy.”

With a trembling hand, John finally reached out and touched his son’s hand. “He’s real.” John sniffed as his tears started up again. “God, my boy is really here.”

Peter swallowed hard, his own emotions getting the better of him. He hated seeing his mate in so much pain, but this was a different pain, a better pain, than what he went through when visiting his son’s grave on his birthday not long ago. “We’re going to have to put addition on the cabin, aren't we?”

“A big addition.” John chuckled as he finally took a seat. “It sounds like we are going to be adopting two more sons.”

Peter groaned. “Please don’t say that.”

“They’re Stiles’ family and I won’t separate them.”

Sighing heavily, Peter pulled out his phone and started searching local contractors.

***TW

Stiles laid there unmoving with his eyes closed as he tried to gather his thoughts. The last thing he remembered was his father hovering over him trying to stop him from bleeding to death from a gun shot to the chest. Hearing a beeping noise, he turned his head towards it then slowly cracked his eyes open. At seeing a bunch of different medical machines, machines that his brain was too sluggish to recall the names of, he closed his eyes again with a soft groan. Great, he was in the freaking hospital.

Stiles continued to lay in bed with his eyes closed until it dawned him that something was weighing his left hand down. Opening his eyes again, he looked down to find a large, heavily calloused, tan hand, almost twice the size of his, covering his much smaller and pale hand. Heart in his throat, he slowly followed the arm that was connected to the familiar hand until his eyes landed on the face of his sleeping dad.

Stiles wanted to get a good look at his dad, to memorize every inch of his face, but he was having a hard time seeing through all the tears that were falling. His dad was at his bedside holding his hand. His dad was here with him.

With his other hand, Stiles scrubbed at his eyes, wiping the tears away as fast as they fell so he could truly get a good look at his dad. His dad had aged some in the past eight years, put on a few pounds and muscle and had some grays peeking out through his brown hair, but his dad still looked the same. He looked exhausted even though he was sleeping and his eyes looked suspiciously swollen, but the man in front of him was the same man he remembered from eight years ago.

“He’s going to be upset that he wasn’t awake when you woke up.”

Stiles reluctantly took his eyes off of his father, he had been so absorbed in looking at him that he hadn’t noticed that there was someone else in the room. Looking to the foot of his bed, he saw a man there that needed no introductions. “Peter Hale.” He croaked, his throat dry and sore.

Smirking, Peter poured the boy a cup of ice water then held it out for him to drink. “Heard of me, have you?”

Stiles’ free hand was shaking as he took the drink, but the water felt like heaven going down his throat. “Deucalion likes to rant and rave about you. There was an article in a newspaper a year ago with your picture in it, he used it for dart practice.”

“Past tense, kiddo.”

“Excuse me?”

“Deucalion liked to rant about me, not likes.” Peter corrected. “Deucalion is dead.” 

Stiles would have launched off the bed if it wasn’t for the fact that he was in terrible pain and there were wires and tubes connected to him. Looking down at his wrist, he gasped when he saw it was bare. “The cuff?”

“In my possession. I was going to melt them, but I figured you would would want to do the honors.”

“I can’t believe it’s gone!” Stiles said in shock, still staring at his bare wrist. “I have been wearing that damn cuff for eight years.”

Peter shifted uncomfortably when the boy started to cry again. Now would be a good time for John to wake up, he didn’t do emotions.

“H-How long have I been here?” Stiles sniffed.

“Two days. Your dad was starting to lose his mind that you weren’t waking.”

A slow smile spread across Stiles’ face. “He was really worried about me? My dad was worried about me?”

Peter’s eyes flashed blue. “Pup, I don’t know what you have been told, but your dad loves you more than anything. He hasn’t left your bedside since he was allowed back here. Your dad has been sitting in that chair holding your hand the entire time. Stiles, you are loved.”

“Stiles.” John muttered his eyes fluttering open.

Stiles’ bottom lip started trembling. “Daddy!” He called out softly, his voice cracking.

John’s head snapped up, pain shooting up his neck from the odd angle it had been at for the last few hours as he slept in the uncomfortable chair at his son’s bedside. “Stiles, you’re awake!”

Stiles’ vision blurred as tears filled his eyes. “Daddy!”

“Jesus, kid!” John sobbed as he got to his feet. As carefully as he could, he bent down and hugged his son for the first time in eight years. It wasn’t a real hug, not with all of Stiles’ injuries, it was more just him cupping the back of his son’s head as he gently hugged him, but to him it was the best hug in the world.

“Daddy, I missed you so much.” Stiles cried as he clung to the back of his father’s shirt. “I’m sorry, I never wanted to leave you, but she made me.”

“It’s okay, I got you now, kiddo. Jesus, Stiles, I missed you so damn much. I thought you were dead.”

“She...she tried.” Stiles admitted, struggling with saying his mother’s name. “She tried drowning me but me almost dying triggered my spark, and then Deucalion came along and convinced her to give me to him.”

John reluctantly straightened back up, but he kept his hands on either side of Stiles’ cheeks. “I’m sorry, son, I’m so damn sorry for not seeing the signs that she was that sick. We have so much to talk about and I’m sure we each have a million questions to ask the other, but right now let’s just focus on you getting better. How are you feeling?”

“Like I was clawed to death and shot.” Stiles chuckled weakly.

All the color drained from John’s face. “Stiles, I didn’t know it was you. I swear, son...”

“It’s okay, dad.” Stiles smiled tiredly. “At first I didn’t know it was you, but I knew there was someone on the roof waiting to take me out. It was a smart move on your end, take out the powerful spark before he could take you out. And I could have, dad, with just a thought I could have killed you all. That’s why I let myself get shot, I didn’t want to hurt anyone...especially you. I love you so much daddy, I didn’t want you to die.”

“I’ll never be able to forgive myself for shooting you. If you had died, I would have...”

“He didn’t, John.” Peter pointed out, not wanting to hear that John would have killed himself. “Stiles is alive, that’s all that matters right now.”

John looked softly at his mate. “You’re right, my boy is alive and back with me. It’s a miracle.”

Stiles yawned, he was already having a hard time staying awake even though he just woke up.  
He was still sick despite his spark getting stronger and despite being in the hospital getting medical help, and every part of his body ached like a bitch, but he was alive and with his dad so this was the best day ever.

John softly caressed his son’s cheek, careful to avoid any bruises. “Don’t fight sleep, son, you need rest so you can heal.”

“How are my twins?” Stiles asked sleepily as he started drifting off. He felt bad, he should have asked about them earlier, but at seeing his dad everything else slipped his mind.

“They’re good, son. Aiden is in the waiting room now, him and Ethan take turns guarding you.” John chuckled. “When you wake I’ll make sure you get to see them.”

Stiles fought to open his eyes again. “Daddy, can I please live with you?”

A loud sob escaped John’s mouth. “Yeah, son, I’d like that a lot. You’re my boy, I’ll always want you. You can even bring those twins of yours.”

“M’so happy.” Stiles slurred as he started drifting off to sleep. “Daddy, please don’t let me. Love you so much.”

“God, Stiles, I love you more than anything. Sleep, son, I promise not to leave and I’ll be here when you wake. I’ll never leave you!”


End file.
